Due to a request, which makes sense, I've changed the thread title.

Discuss anything and everything MJ and anything about the Jacksons. Keep it civil and friendly folks

Thread #2 http://prince.org/msg/8/301397 (thread link correction - luv4u)

luv4u said:

That's the Debarge-thread which you linked ^ http://prince.org/msg/8/301397

luv4u said:

One more offtopicomment :

The reason that it tends to go offtopic at times is there might not be fresh news everyday about the upcoming shows and stuff. That's how a discussion starts to live it's own life in such situations.
At first, there was also the "Let's Talk Mike"-topic, but that one had to go probably because of lesser postings. The O2-topic was kept as a sticky because of it's actuality, but some people still might
want to discuss about other MJ-related subjects so where do they go ?

And i've seen way longer topics before, lol : http://prince.org/msg/7/279744?&pg=30

Carry on

Shango said:

The Let's Talk Mike one had way more pages, it's about 55 or more now

bboy87 said:

Okay cool & my bad

bboy87 said:

God, Man In The Mirror sounds so beautiful instrumental.

MattyJam said:

So does Childhood

bboy87 said:

Thanks, bboy. That was nice.

dag said:

Speechless has a great instrumental

MattyJam said:

i know Glenn Ballad did a great job with the song.

seeingvoices12 said:

I love "Speechless".

Here's a recap of some news from the past couple of weeks

According to Actarus from MJFrance (the same person who told us the Talauega brothers have been rehearsing with Michael Jackson for two months), Siedah Garrett will also take part in the "This Is It!" concerts in London.

He says Siedah called Michael and asked him if she could be part of the shows and Michael immediately agreed.


Source: MJFrance / MJDreams.net

Read this 2008 interview where Siedah Garrett says she would love to tour again with Michael Jackson:
http://www.essence.com/ne...ancewoman/

Shango said:

ok post anything MJ

luv4u said:

Will the title change?

bboy87 said:

New thread, new chance for me to ask again about who's in the band!

bboy87 said:

If you want it to change. You have a suggestion?? Orgnote me if you want.

CandaceS said:

It probably won't be announced until the tour starts


now that I think of it, I don't think the band lineup was ever announced for any of his shows....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blog...inand.html


The private life of Rio Ferdinand

Chris Charles | 12:55 UK time, Friday, 24 April 2009

So I'm just about to interview Rio Ferdinand when he breaks off to take a call from Michael Jackson. Welcome to the world of the Premier League footballer.

The Prince of Pop is ringing to wish Rio good luck for the launch of the player's latest venture - a celebrity-studded online magazine named in honour of his Manchester United shirt number, 'Five'.

When Ferdinand returns he admits: "I was shaking when I got off the phone. It was a real surprise. I'm hoping to interview him for a later edition and he's invited me to one of his concerts to come backstage and speak to him about it.

"The first album I ever owned was Bad, so that says it all. I got the album when I was living on the Friary estate in Peckham, who'd have thought that one day I might be meeting the guy?"
Michael Jackson
Given all the trappings of fame and fortune that accompany the modern-day footballer, Ferdinand is surprisingly grounded. Our 15-minute chat is peppered with references to his modest upbringing and the fortunate position he finds himself in today. A privilege that allows him to have a natter with Jackson and a one-on-one with rapper 50 Cent, who he interviewed for the first edition of the magazine.

"I was quite nervous meeting him," Rio confesses. "But it was great to see a different side, rather than this macho 'I've been shot a few times' image that everyone dwells on.

"Everyone expected me to go for someone like 50 Cent, pigeon-holing me a bit, so it was important to capture another element of him - away from that gangster image - and I think we did that. He was talking about politics and other interests he's got rather than just the obvious, so you got to see a softer side."

Mickey Rourke and Duffy also appear in the launch edition, although Ferdinand couldn't do those interviews himself, and with Jackson seemingly in the bag, I ask him what other big names he would like to talk to. The answer is rather surprising.

"If I could interview anyone in the world it would be the two princes, William and Harry," he answers without hesitation. "I'd love to get their take on the world, because no-one knows how they see it. It would be great to be the first people to do that. Barack Obama would be another one but I think I'd rather interview the princes first, because no-one's got an insight into what they're about."

So has this newly-honed journalistic instinct given him an insight into the world of the hungry hacks who spend their lives chasing him and his fellow-professionals looking for a decent angle?

"Not really. The difference is we're not trying to get an extravagant story, we're trying to get genuine answers to questions that hopefully a lot of other people out there would like to be asking themselves, rather than getting a juicy, crazy story that some media types would like."

The question has clearly touched a raw nerve and you feel a certain degree of sympathy for players who spend their lives being snapped by the paparazzi as they go about their daily lives - an issue which Ferdinand feels has contributed to the common perception that footballers are out of touch with the man on the street.

"There's a bigger divide between the fan and the player nowadays because people see the vast amounts of money players earn as a big problem," he concedes. "And then there's the whole interest in footballers and the way the media are in terms of the derogatory press that is sometimes promoted.

"You've got a story on a player here, mobile phones with cameras...it makes players clam up and not want to go to certain places because they think 'I'm gonna get camera-ed here by somebody who can earn £500 for giving someone a photo'. It's an automatic defence mechanism that makes people shy away a little bit and that's probably why the divide has come between the fan and the footballer.

"I still go out with my mates to the local pub and sit and have a drink, and sometimes when you get fans coming up and asking for autographs it's great, because that's part and parcel of being a footballer. But when you're with your kids it can be difficult because your kids are losing out (on your attention). The only way to look at it is that if you're not being asked for your autograph then you must be doing rubbish!"
Rio Ferdinand
Looking around the swish members club in the heart of London's banking district which is hosting the launch, I must confess to being more than a little detached from the modern-day footballer. It feels like the place is dripping in gold.

There's a constant flow of champagne, a bevy of gorgeous women and of course the players themselves and their assorted hangers-on. A few have come to show their support to Rio, most notably Ashley Cole and his West Ham namesake, Carlton. It's noticeable that Ashley spends the whole evening surrounded by male friends, just in case someone is lurking with one of those pesky camera phones.

It's certainly a world away from Nigeria, where Ferdinand spent time last summer to promote education to children through football. "That was a very humbling experience that puts everything into perspective in terms of materialistic issues," he says.

"It makes you understand how fortunate you are to be in the position we are when you go there and see the way people live on the other side of the world. In many cases the way they live is a complete contrast to the way we do. It makes you realise that when you're moaning about traffic, or getting the wrong pizza delivered....it makes you realise we are lucky even to be able to order a pizza."

Ferdinand is keen to return there soon, but knows he cannot give 100% commitment to anything until his footballing days are over, particularly now, aged 30, as he finds himself entering the twilight of his career.

"I've been in the game a long time now and I find myself acting a little bit like a big brother to some of the younger guys," he admits.

"It only seems like yesterday when I was being talked to by the likes of Iain Dowie and Ian Wright at West Ham. I'm now in the same period of my career as they were back then. You evolve into a different person.You've got responsibilites being one of the senior players in the changing room."

So will he take that one step further and move into management when he eventually retires?

"Sometimes I wake up and think I'd love to be a manager. Other days I'd like to get really into my charity work with my 'Live The Dream' foundation and other days doing something like this in the media. Who knows? I'm not sure.

"But what I really want to do at the moment is concentrate on playing football. That's what I love more than anything else - and that is my true love. If I thought anything else I was doing outside of that would diminish it then I wouldn't do it, but at the moment it's working well."

And with a clutch of honours already under his belt, another Premier League title within touching distance and the small matter of a Champions League double-header with Arsenal coming up, it's hard to disagree.
[Edited 4/25/09 21:17pm]

Michael Jackson For Sale
Five Monday 27 April

Michael Jackson has just managed to stop the biggest sale of his possessions ever. Michael Jackson For Sale is the story of the sale that never was and a chance to look at the weird and wonderful stuff that King of Pop collected at his Neverland ranch . From iconic stage costumes to private collections of artwork and a child-like fascination with Hollywood memorabilia, we get a unique glimpse in the spending habits of a super-celebrity who loved to shop.

The film looks back over the financial highs and lows of Michael Jackson's career - from his peak as the highest-earning entertainer ever, to the point where he almost lost it all. Michael Jackson's is still one of the world's biggest stars, his comeback tour at the O2 has already broken box-office records, this film gives us a rare glimpse into his innermost world.

written and co-produced by The Jackson 5

Items from the exhibit (Thanks to SameDifference at KOP)

here's what she said about the exhibit:




Whoopi Goldberg and her granddaughter showed up to see the exhibit

Chelsea Staub’s (Actress/Singer) Myspace blog:


http://blogs.myspace.com/...=485273210

Friday, April 24, 2009

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson.

I never in my wildest dreams thought I would write a blog about you.

I know practically ‘zero’ about Michael Jackson, besides what I've seen on Headline News in the past five years. I've danced to his songs at awkward wedding parties and watched the Jen Garner chick flicks where an entire office in cocktail attire breaks into synchronized "Thriller" choreography. Just last month I was rocking out to "Man in the Mirror" in the JONAS makeup room as the cast and our crew of rambunctious make-up ladies serenaded our reflections with “microphone” curling irons and hair brushes.

My first encounter with Michael Jackson was at Disneyland when I was about 5. There used to be this fantastic 3-D attraction where the updated "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" movie now hunkers down in Tomorrowland. It starred the King of Pop and a cool small-winged chihuahua named "Fuzzball" and the movie was called "Captain EO." It was directed by Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather) and produced by George Lucas (Star Wars), plus Anjelica Huston played the Evil Ruler... so there was pretty much no way it could suck. It was a loud and exhilarating space opera that made me forget about my churro-induced stomach ache for a little while.

This week The Collection of Michael Jackson was on display for auction... and being a product of the 80's and a fan of Captain EO, I decided to check it out.

Soon after walking through the gothic Neverland gates, I was surrounded by statues of kids playing leap frog and ring around the rosy. Images from the 1999 film "The Haunting" were running through my head and it made me really anxious. However, I kept going because Peter Gallagher was right in front of me and I loved "While You Were Sleeping."

Once inside, it was like being in the best Smithsonian museum of all time. I was mesmerized by old concert footage of teenagers bawling his name and clawing at his legs to get a piece of him. He had so much emotion onstage and I was transfixed; an indication of why he became so renowned. He could dance. He could sing. He could write. He was brilliant. And his original rhinestoned glove was right next to me.

People’s Choice Awards, Platinum cassette tapes and portraits that looked like they were taken straight from the Getty were everywhere. It was overwhelming. How was this all in someone's house at one point? Seeing a framed personalized letter from Ronald Reagan made me hate the wall art in my apartment.

There was a room with all of his furniture, which to my surprise was very uncomplicated. Rocking chairs, antiques and wooden dresser drawers that I imagined bedazzled socks being shoved into. It was just like being at Grandma's house. Okay, a really wealthy grandma with a $20,000 chess set, but none the less... homey. Keeping with the "Into the Woods" theme, he possessed several wax figures... all made in the likeness of white, elderly men and women. There were butlers with funny expressions holding wine bottles and a little old lady with pin curls and a bathrobe. It made me wonder if he either had: A) No grandma, or B ) One that made him feel very safe.

You know that song that plays in FAO Schwartz over and over again... where little children laugh and welcome you to their wonderful world of toys? It should be playing in this next room. There were thousands of toys! Michael Jackson is like a modern day Willie Wonka. Yes, the computerized arcade games were all there, as if he bought out every Fiddlesticks in the country, but looking at his collection... it was obvious he has been hoarding away toys his entire life. Walking through these rooms was like walking through time... starting with original movie posters from "The Sound of Music" to Star Wars costumes worn by the cast... even a California Raisins collection! You know the glass window displays on Disneyland's Main Street? Where animatronic characters move and tell the story of different Disney movie scenes? He had them ALL recreated: Peter Pan, Cinderella, and at the end of the Pinocchio display... it is Michael who turns into the "real boy."

He became a superstar at eleven years old, so I guess this was the stuff he missed out on. If at 20, I had already been under the intense pressure of this business for the past decade, missing out on bike rides and state fairs, who knows what kind of mood I'd be in. I believe when you miss an important part of life, you spend the rest of your time trying to recreate it. You're stuck.

At the end of the visit, I was moved and kind of... sad. Here is a man who gave his entire life to being an entertainer...for me...for you.... and now, his personal, most intimate belongings... stuff that is HIS... I am PAYING to see. It seems so unfair to him. Fortunately, the auction has been called off and he is getting his stuff back. And you know what? I'm glad. His memories... the things that make him comfortable, even if it is a life size play castle... deserve to be back where they belong. With him.

So this image I've had in my head of a pale, skinny man in a surgical mask enveloped by flashbulbs as he rushes out of a building isn’t the image I want to define him for me anymore. I'm going back to Captain EO. I'm going to say it’s none of my business, because at the end of the day, the only thing that affects me is when "Black or White" comes on the radio while I'm driving with the windows down. And I really like that song.

That is quite the collection of MJ memorobilia.

Any chance of an Australian tour?

Can we get a petition going?

The catalog for the exhibition has great pics of everything:

http://www.juliensauction...-list.html

I mention this because I'm stuck with a slow connection and downloading all those pics is killing me!

I'm not convinced Neverland could ever be like Graceland...rightly or wrongly, its got a rather tainted reputation now. Plus it's in a relatively remote locale. On the other hand, a museum in L.A. or Vegas might work.

Wow,
just looking back at those amazing clothes, you just remember how iconic they are.

They just define MJ totally.

Its good that he is getting his stuff back. He should keep that for himself and then make his own graceland.

It would be a disgrace to see all his most prized possessions just dissapear.

Good on MJ for stopping the sale.

CandaceS said:

Yeah, Neverland just isn't the same, but I think it could work if done properly